MapInfo Corporation
Staying power
Global high-tech leader MapInfo born, and
still growing, in Rensselaer County
Situation:
| The Rensselaer County IDA - worked with the global software company to understand its
needs
- developed an incentive package – enabling MapInfo to add
150,000 square
feet to its current home - helped keep a locally-born success story right where it
belongs
|
You've probably heard the story. In
1984, four students at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute hatched the idea for a new kind of software,
birthing the revolution of desktop
mapping and geographic data analysis – and a company named MapInfo Corporation. This
global software giant
would form the cornerstone of the Rensselaer Technology Park and
has long been a source of Rensselaer
County growth and pride. In 2003, however, with revenue topping
$96 million and more than 700 employees
worldwide (named the third fastest-growing company in the Russell
2000 index), MapInfo was bursting
at the seams in its current corporate headquarters. Would this
hometown hero start looking for a new home?
Solution:
Put away the packing tape. Realizing
the value of having a fast growing global
company based in Rensselaer County, the Rensselaer County
Industrial Development Agency (IDA) pulled together
a palatable incentive package – one that would keep MapInfo here
to stay. This package enabled MapInfo to
expand its facilities by adding 150,000 square feet and four more
stories, totaling 210,000 square feet...
plenty of room to grow.
Results:
Rensselaer County IDA retained a
highly-valued global software company, with
deep local roots. The IDA saved MapInfo significant cost on
material amounts without restricting the scope of
the project, limiting their options for financing, or slowing down
the momentum of their mission.
"Our experience with Rensselaer County
IDA has been great. If Mr. Pasinella doesn't know the
answer, he knows how to find it, or whom you need to talk to
figure it out. We've gotten assistance
identifying financing sources and understanding the jungle of
options available to us. Who doesn't
need a resource like that on a project of this magnitude?"
– John Cavalier, MapInfo Corporation, Chairman of
the Board